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I-75 Reopened After Motorists Stranded For Hours, No Injuries Reported

Lance Dennee / WKMS

The AP is reporting that I-75 in eastern Kentucky has been reopened Saturday afternoon following the winter storm that hit the state Friday.

Some motorists were stranded on the interstate for hours. An official tells the AP there were no injuries related to the traffic standstill.

Update at 10:00 a.m.:

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet office in Elizabethtown issued the following update on road conditions throughout the region Saturday:

With snow and ice teams working around the clock since late Thursday night, most primary routes in District 4 have improved greatly since accumulating precipitation ended and moved east. I-65, Western Kentucky Parkway and Bluegrass Parkway are all open but traffic continues moving at a slower than normal pace.

U.S. highways such as 31-W, 31-E, 60, 62 and 150 are still covered in many places, particularly in our eastern counties where snow accumulation totals are between 12 and 15 inches.

Secondary roads which include many state routes are still mostly covered.  These will be a major focus for snow and ice teams today.  Crews will continue to plow roads and treat where possible.  Sunshine will be very favorable to improving road conditions.  Crews will work into the evening, but with temperatures forecast generally close to zero around the region, chemical treatments will be ineffective.  After plowing is complete today, treatment will resume on Sunday.

Original post:

Kentucky State Police say emergency crews are making their way to cars stranded along Interstate 75 in a major snowstorm with water, fuel and snacks.

The agency said early Saturday on Twitter that its crews and the National Guard are moving cars one at a time and that the Red Cross is establishing shelters for motorists. Police said no further traffic was being allowed on the road and cars were being diverted, but did not give more specifics or immediately answer phone calls and emails seeking comment.

It was unclear how many vehicles were stranded, but photos from local media outlets showed a long line of trucks and other vehicles lined up along the snowy road. State Police twitter updates and brief statements indicated the problem was near an exit at London, Kentucky — south of Lexington.

Storm System Impacting Millions Along East Coast Saturday

Various storm warnings and watches remain in effect in several states as a mammoth winter storm that could dump 2 feet or more of snow in some areas continued to move eastward.

The National Weather Service's website says blizzard warnings remained in effect Saturday for eastern and coastal portions of the mid-Atlantic, from mountain areas in Virginia to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Long Island, New York.

Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories also remained in effect for a large area that extended from the Tennessee Valley to the Ohio Valley, and spanned from the Carolinas to southern New England. High wind warnings and watches are in effect for coastal regions in the mid-Atlantic and southern New England. Coastal flood warnings and watches are in effect from Virginia to Massachusetts.

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